OK so this is a new one-shot.
This was suggested to me by Flaming eyeball in a review for my story "Flaming Silhouettes".
I do not own BE/ANE. This was suggested by Flaming eyeball so the concept idea goes to them.
I hope you all enjoy it!
In hindsight, it probably should have been expected that he wouldn't have been able to keep at least that part hidden for long. The flames, sure, that was relatively easy especially when he kept the sword sheathed and fought away from the others. The healing was the same, seeing as most of his wounds cleared up pretty quickly and he could otherwise look like he didn't even get harmed in the fight.
It was the physical attributes that came with being a demon that caused problems.
His ears were at least hidden by his hair, and if anyone noticed their slight pointiness then it could just be that he had abnormally pointy ears. His fangs were noticeable, sure, but just like the ears he could just say his canines were longer and pointier because of genetics. He wasn't the only person out there that had odd teeth, his just had a more supernatural reason.
Then of course, there was his tail. That appendage that was covered in fur and very sensitive he found. The appendage that he thought would stay hidden if he just hid it beneath his clothing. What he never realized was that his tail was like that of animals on Assiah. He didn't realize that it liked to express his emotions just as much.
Now, he never had too many problems when he realized this. The way it was wrapped around his waist along with the jacket over his shirt helped to hid any movement it made outside of tightening around his chest. If it was in his pants, it was even easier since it didn't have as much free range to move around.
He thought he took care of everything with it, that is until Yukio had them deal with a demon that, when wounded, seemed to bleed a very thick and sticky slime, meaning when it was shot at or sliced the slime covered all of them. Not only that, but by the time they exorcised it, it decided that exploding was the way to go, causing them to be covered even more! Oh, and it wasn't a sticky slime that just clung to you, it also seeped into your clothing!
So now, once they finished the mission, Yukio allowed them all to go to the showers in the abandoned dorm building to wash up and change into extra clothing they had been allowed to grab before going to the showers. They had private showers, however they were all still in the same bathroom, and Rin at the moment was unable to escape the questioning eyes of his fellow classmates.
"The showers are private! Why do you need to wait for us to be done?" Suguro questioned, glaring at Rin.
"I don't need to tell you my reasons!" Rin shot back.
"Yeah, but don't you want this stuff off as soon as possible?" Shima asked, already pulling off his shirt and holding it at a distance as if it was some type of disease. "I mean, it's gross! I can still feel it on me even though I took off my shirt!"
"Just take the damn shower with the rest of us!" Suguro huffed.
"Bon, we shouldn't force Rin if he doesn't want to." Konekomaru spoke up, trying to stop the argument now.
Suguro scoffed. "Please, he's just a chicken!"
Rin growled in reply. "As if! Besides, you're the one who looks like a rooster! If anyone is the chicken, its you!"
"I'm not the one afraid to take a shower!"
"I'm not afraid!"
"Yeah right! You definitely are!"
"As if!" With that Rin grabbed a towel and began unbuttoning his shirt. He marched his way angrily to the shower he would use, not noticing that he had taken his shirt off completely before he closed the curtains to separate himself from the others.
They watched as his pants and underwear were thrown out from the curtain and the water began running, but their minds were too caught up on what they saw before the curtain closed.
"...Did he have something wrapped around his waist?" Suguro asked.
"Yes?" Konekomaru replied, unsure himself.
"Did it look furry?"
"Yes?"
"Hey, I think we're just seeing things, I mean that couldn't have been real, right?" Shima laughed nervously, looking at his two friends.
"R-Right, it was nothing. Come on, let's just get cleaned up." Suguro said. Soon, the three of them were taking their own showers as well.
Inside his own shower, Rin was grumbling and his frown deepened when he took in the sight of his tail. The slime had seeped past his clothing so his tail had not been spared the attack. He gritted his teeth in frustration. It had already taken a lot to get the slime out of his hair, now he had to wash it out of the fur covered appendage that was as sensitive as hell! Taking a shuddering breath, Rin grasped his tail and began trying to wash the slime from it as gently as possible.
Of course fate hated him s it wasn't long before he came across knots and large clumps of the slime. He roughly ran his fingers through the fur, hissing at the pull on his tail from the knots, especially in the large fluffy end. He was so going to give it to Yukio when he got the chance. He bit his lip, not caring that his fangs pierced his lip, as he muffled his sounds of pain from the others. No need for them to worry about him and try to see why he's hurt.
Soon, all the slime was out of his fur but his tail throbbed with pain in certain places and the fur was a mess on it, similarly to his hair. Not wanting to do anything else to his tail, he let it drop and felt it curl between his legs as if trying to save itself from anymore harm. He sighed and began to wash the rest of his body. As he began that, he couldn't help but notice that the showers from the other's had stopped.
"Oi! Okumura! What's taking so long?" Suguro called from outside the shower as he began to dress in his own clothing.
"Obviously I got covered more than the rest of you!" Rin snapped back. "It's really difficult to get out of hair!"
"Tell me about it." Shima chuckled. "We'll wait for you outside, alright? Don't take so long!"
To be honest, most of the slime was off by the end of their conversation, but Rin peeked through the curtains just to be sure it would be safe for him to change. When he saw no one, he sighed and washed the remaining slime off before turning off the shower.
He reached for his towel and dried himself off, taking care with his tail. Not having a brush with him, he flattened down the fur as much as he could before he slipped into his clothing. His tail's untreated fur rubbed uncomfortably against his clothing, and he knew he wouldn't be able to focus unless this was taken care of.
Leaving the shower, he paused when he noticed the other three actually waiting out there for him.
"About time!" Suguro complained with a huff. "You take forever you know!"
"That's not my fault!" Rin snapped back.
"Whatever." Suguro huffed. "Mr. Okumura offered for us to stay the night since tomorrow is the weekend and it's already late as it is."
Rin blinked. "Huh? Oh, alright! That means more people to cook for!" He was beaming now but a sudden shift of his tail beneath his clothes reminded him of the discomfort he was feeling and soon his smile fell a little.
The other three blinked at the drop in the smile, wondering what was wrong. However, before they could ask, Rin spoke again.
"Er, tell Yukio I'll be down to cook in a bit. I just have to do something first." With that he took off down the hall.
They stared after him in shock before Suguro growled. "He's hiding something, again!" Looking at his friends he motioned after Rin. "Come on, let's figure out what it is."
"Isn't that invading his privacy?" Konekomaru asked.
"Yeah, and what if he's...you know...in his room." Shima suggested getting horrified looks from his friends. "What?"
"That's disgusting Shima!" Suguro shouted before shaking his head to get rid of the shock. "No, he's obviously just hiding something and we're going to find out. As his team members, he should trust us."
"Who should trust you?" A voice came from behind and they turned to look to see Izumo and Shiemi standing there.
Izumo quirked an eyebrow at them. "Well?"
"We were talking about Rin." Suguro replied.
"Is he alright?" Shiemi asked, worried about her friend.
"He's fine, as far as we know, but we think he's hiding something." Suguro replied. "And we're going to figure out what it is."
"You know you all seem really creepy doing this right?" Izumo said, getting wide eyes from the boys.
"Well, he shouldn't keep secrets from us!" Suguro shot back.
Izumo sighed and rolled her eyes before walking down the hall in the direction Rin ran off to. "Well? Are you coming or not?"
Meanwhile in his room, Rin was gritting his teeth as he brushed his fur out on his tail. Kuro was over by the doorway, keeping watch for Rin in case anyone came looking for him. His hair was already brush, that having been easier to do than his tail. Then he worked on his tail and he winced at the knots in the tuff at the end. They didn't want to come out and were causing him to pull painfully on his tail.
"Are you alright Rin?" Kuro asked, looking at Rin with worried eyes.
"Y-Yeah...just great!" Rin growled out, pulling at another knot. It happened to be one of the biggest ones and it didn't want to come out, making everything painful for Rin.
"Do you need help? Should I get Yukio?"
"No! I'm fine!" He really didn't want Yukio to see him like this. The last time he had a bad knot in his tail, Yukio helped him out and Rin grumbled the entire time. Even though Yukio had gotten the knot out without to much pain, his tail still hurt in the end along with his dignity. He could do this alone damnit!
With a rough pull, the knot finally came undone along with pulling out a few strands of his fur making Rin cry out and his tail throb. Tears came to his eyes from the pain that shot up his spine, and he winced at the thought that he still had a few more knots to go.
He felt a soft touch to his leg and looked down to see Kuro looking up at him, trying to comfort him. He smiled at the cat sidhe and didn't even process that fact the room was left unguarded until he heard multiple gasps from the doorway.
Jerking, Rin's gaze shot to the door where he found the shocked faces of his classmates standing there.
"GAH!" Rin cried, trying to hide his tail despite it being too late already. He winced when he grabbed it roughly but he didn't care as he tried to stuff beneath his clothing.
But the damage was done.
"Rin!?"
"Okumura! What the hell!?"
"Was that a tail!?"
"Explain now!"
Rin laughed nervously and looked away from his friends gazes. "Er...hey? What's up guys?"
They all looked on in shock. When they had opened the door after hearing a yelp of pain, they hadn't expected to see Rin sitting on the floor next to Kuro, brush in hand and tail in the other! Rin seemed not to have noticed them either if his reaction was anything.
"Okumura?! What the hell!? Explain!?" Suguro shouted once more and Rin tried to avoid eye contact as he spoke.
"I-I don't know what you-"
"Bullshit!" Suguro snapped. "You know exactly what we're talking about, so explain!"
"...I-I...I don't…" Rin didn't know where to start, or even how to start. This was something he was hoping to keep silent but not they found out and he didn't know what to do.
"Rin...was that a tail?" Shiemi spoke up, his voice wavering.
Rin swallowed and clenched his fists before nodding. "Yeah."
"D-Does this mean...you're a demon?!" Konekomaru exclaimed, not knowing how to react to this.
Rin bit his lip before he answered. "I'm...I'm a half-demon, actually. I'll...understand if you don't want to remain friends with me."
"Do...do you know who you're demon parent is?" Shima asked, not replying to Rin's comment.
Rin bit his lip. He could tell them, let it all out now, but there was a small spark of hope that they might still accept him if he didn't say who he was related to. Despite knowing he shouldn't have lied, Rin did so anyway.
He shook his head.
"O-Oh…" Shima's voice died and Rin swallowed again.
It was silent for a few moments before a scoff broke the quiet. Glancing up, Rin saw Izumo cross her arms and look at him before walking forward. "So you're a half demon, so what? There are other half demon exorcists, you're not the first you know." With that she sat down next to him.
"Y-Yeah!" Shiemi yelped out, awkwardly moving forward to sit next to Rin and Izumo. Shima and Konekomaru hesitantly joined next but Suguro hung back.
He looked over Rin for a few moments before asking, "You really don't know who you're related to?"
"Er...yeah." Rin choked out, shuffling nervously under his gaze.
"Idiot." Suguro huffed, coming to join their circle. "You're demon abilities should have made that clear. What do you know?"
"Umm...I can heal quickly and I can talk to demons." Suguro raised an eyebrow at him.
"That's it?"
"It's not that surprising." Konekomaru spoke up, fighting down his shock. "Not many half demons are powerful. They usually have the basic powers since they aren't related to high level demons. Those that are usually have slight abilities."
Suguro huffed. "Yeah, but I doubt that. Are you sure that's everything?" He gave Rin another look.
Rin shuffled under his gaze. "Why do you want to know so badly? It's not that important."
"Of course it is." Suguro replied. "We need to know what you can and can't do. Besides, there shouldn't be any secrets between us."
"Please Rin?" Shiemi spoke up, looking up at him with large eyes. "I don't want you to keep anything important from us."
Rin opened his mouth to reply before closing it. For a few moments he was quiet before he opened his mouth again. "I know...I can make fire." That was all he was going to say. He couldn't risk it, he couldn't risk them knowing he was related to Satan.
"So, you're probably related to Iblis, right?" Konekomaru said. "I mean...that's the most obvious choice."
"What color are the flames?" izumo asked, furrowing her eyebrows.
"I...I don't know. I never really paid any attention to them, since they only come out when I have to fight. Sorry."
"Eh...it's fine!" Shima replied, waving his hand in a dismissive motion.
"Hey, what were you doing before we came in?" Izumo asked. "Not that I care, but you screamed like a girl before we came in."
"I didn't scream like a girl!" Rin exclaimed. "You're imagining things, eyebrows!"
"Eyebrows!?" Izumo exclaimed.
"Yeah!" Rin grinned. He shifted and winced when his tail rubbed against his clothing, still sore from the rough treatment.
"Are you ok?" Shiemi asked worried, seeing his wince.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Oi, why are you still hiding your tail?" Suguro asked. "We already know about it, so you can take it back out now."
"Ah! Right!" Rin laughed, letting his tail free. They all stared in shock at the the appendage that came out, waving slightly through the air. They were all transfixed by its upclose appearance that they jumped at Shiemi's sudden cry.
"Oh Rin!"
They watched her reach for his tail that now lay on the ground. Her fingers hovering above it.
"It's all messy! What happened?!" Looking closer, they could see the messy and scraggly fur on the tail.
"Er...the slime happened." Rin said, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's fine, you don't need to make such a fuss about it."
Shiemi pouted before huffing. "Give me your brush!"
"What?!"
"I'll brush it for you! It looks a mess Rin!"
"No thank you! I'm good, I can do it myself!"
"Apparently not." Suguro scoffed.
"Yes I can!"
"Dude, just give her your tail!"
"No!"
"Why not!"
Rin huffed and looked away, a blush dancing across his cheeks. "It's sensitive ok?"
"Ohh~! Like a-"
"Not like that Shima!" Rin shouted, his blush darkening.
"Rin," Rin looked at Shiemi as she spoke. "Trust me ok? I promise I won't hurt it, ok?"
Rin shuffled in his spot. "There are a lot of knots though." He grumbled.
Izumo huffed. "And that's why you trust a girl to do it, not a guy. They make the knots worse." Seeing Rin not moving she took action. "Give it here, you big baby."
"Oi, I'm not a baby!" Rin cried out.
"Well, you're acting like one, so shut up and let the girls work."
Izumo took the brush from Rin's hands and Shiemi gently picked up the tail. She ran her fingers gently through the fur, seeing where all the knots were and how bad they were. Along the base it was relatively ok, but it was the fluffy tip that was the worst. She pulled apart some of the worst knots, apologizing to Rin if he flinched. Once she was done with that, Izumo took control and began to run the brush through the navy fur, no one commented on the very quiet purr that came from the back of Rin's throat.
"You know," Shima spoke up. "We really should have realized he was part demon."
"Huh? Why is that?" Konekomaru asked.
Shima smiled. "I mean, his teeth are pretty sharp, and his ears are pointy. Plus, he never seemed to be hurt! We really didn't notice things apparently!"
They all paused at his words before laughing.
"Yeah, we really should have noticed!"
"I'm surprised you didn't!"
"It's because you're always doing stupid things to keep us from noticing the other things!"
"Hey! You're the one who's stupid, mister rooster!"
"I'm not a rooster damnit! And at least I don't purr like a cat!"
"I did not purr!"
"Yes you did! We all heard you!"
"Hey, keep your tail still! I'm working on it still, idiot!"
"Sorry!"
Meanwhile, in the hallway, Yukio smiled at their antics. While they may not know everything yet, it was nice to see them accepting Rin for who he was. He walked away, deciding to give them a few moments to themselves. After that, he would have to ruin their fun so they could eat and possible join in the fun of making fun of his brother.
So that was that! I might make a sequel to this for after the camping arc because, you know, drama!
I hope you all liked it!
Feel free to comment and anything else.
Until next time! :D